Yah true. If episode one is awful I won’t continue. Maybe I weight them like episode 1 70% , 2 20%, but by episode 3 10%. So by episode 3 I 100% know if if I’m going to like a serialized TV show.

Interesting read. I think episode 3 is the magic number. The first episode is actually a pilot they worked on and maybe rewrote or recut to get the actors and tone, etc. Sometimes the pilot is very different from the rest of the series. Episode 2 should be the actual tone and feel of the series but sometimes that can be difficult to get right so episode 3 is a make or break for me. By that time I should understand if I like the characters, understand motivations and something should have happened to peak my interest to keep watching. “Story of the week” or “non-serialized” shows I think are fine to check out another season episode if people are talking about it.

This is cool. Thanks for sharing.

Yep. We all learned years ago. Anything that needs an always on network to play an offline game is bs because sooner or later that network is not available.

TIL the director of “the Eternals” is the same as “Nomadland”?

So if I understand it Signal has your phone number but only logs sign up date and last activity date. So yes they can say this person has Signal and last used it on date X. Other than that no information.

Matrix doesn’t require a phone number but has no standard on logging activity so it’s up to the server admin what they log, and they could retain ip address, what users are talking in what, rooms, etc. and E2EE is not required.

I think both have different approaches. I’m just trying to understand. On one hand you have centralized system that has a standard to minimize logs or decentralized system that must be configured to use E2EE and to remove logs.

I’m not an expert but I’ll use this analogy.

Signal is you meeting a person who gives you secure devices. This person then can only ever provide the following information to someone else. From Signal website. “The phone number. the date and time a user registered with Signal and the last date of a user’s connectivity to the Signal service.” Only your device and your friends device can read the messages. It goes direct from you to them. The only way to read any message is having the device.

Telegram is like you making an agreement with another person. By default messages are encrypted but go to the other person for decryption before going to your friends device. This other person Telegram has and will give the phone number, messages, serverlogs, dates to legal entities by request. Now there is an option to bypass this person by using “secret chats” . This will make it so the message is directly from your device to their device. Telegram can’t read messages but as I understand they can still potentially have metadata, server logs of when messages are sent, how many, what device they are sent from. Bottomline is they have activity logs Signal can only provide the date you signed up and the last time you used the app. Not only that but just being on the Telegram platform which allows bots makes you a target. Bots will contact you like spam. Sending you harmful links, etc.

Almost every security person I’ve ever read says. “I use Signal”. Why wouldn’t you go with the service that by default has end to end encryption? Telegram makes it a option you have to select for each person. Both use your phone number.

These are very basic descriptions. I’m Happy to remove or update if I got anything wrong.

More signal encryption info

I’m OK with buying now based on the fact they reversed this. They did what I wanted and the reason I waited to buy so I’ll hold up my end. They should be happy people are even buying the games. If they ever change this policy they are other options. I’d love to see what the sales numbers are from before and after the requirement. I’m guessing it wasn’t just the articles but actual decline in sales.

So sad. Hope all the Lynch fans are doing well. We lost a true artist today.

A true blow for film fans. Lynch was a visionary that really didn’t compromise. Pushed the medium forward. A true artist. People often complain about his approach to storytelling in films but after seeing one of his films they are rarely forgotten or thought of as “just another movie”.

Toto and Eno!

Does anyone know if he was legally allowed gun(s) while on probation and after you know he was convicted of used guns to endange people based on a internet conspiracy?

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Games that assume I want to play online or be “connected” are the problem. I don’t want any of that. I want to pay for a game with my Steam or Microsoft account and play it offline with that one service I bought it from. At first it was annoying to make one new account but OK well not that bad. Now every developer has some sort of required “get connected”. F that. It provides no benefit only added barriers for a game they should be happy I even bought in the first place. Online games sure I get it, mixed should be optional but offline. No absolutely not.

Yep. No thanks. Games without online components should have one account to verify and store a copy of the game including saves, etc. That is Steam in this case. If you buy through Steam other accounts should be optional when you want to play online. I’m through with this garbage for offline games.

River of Sorrow in Metal Gear Solid 3. First regular then as “no kills” run. It’s something that made me genuinely question everything while playing a video game. Everything.

Yah. Got it. Just remember what punk is. DIY. You can use anything. Just remember what D. Boon said. “Punk is whatever we say it is”. Only fools follow rules. Good luck.

Punk on a budget? I can’t tell if this is a joke. Every punk I’ve ever known buys or steals from thrift shops, military supplies, and dumpsters behind clothing stores. It was all out of rejection of social norms and creativity of discarded materials. Duct tape, paint, spray paint, stencils, cardboard, safety pins, chains, ropes, needle and thread are all cheap. Egg whites or Elmers for hair spikes.

Twin Peaks season 3 episode 8 comes to mind. It might not be something I want to watch over and over but it’s probably the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen on broadcast TV. A surrealism short film in the context of a series that both has a self contained story and speaks to the broad narrative of the series. Krzysztof Penderecki’s Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, Nine in Nails, The Platters’ “My Prayer” on the soundtrack? Amazing! Still to this day I can not believe the artistic freedom allowed by Showtime to create this. Jaw was on the floor for the entire episode. I’ve felt for a long time that nothing could actually be new/shocking/different on broadcast TV. This changed my mind. Nothing has even been close imho.

I just realized that the most obvious choice for new players is Stardew Valley. I never really thought about it. Even newer Mario or Minecraft could be a barrier. Controlling cameras can be confusing and difficult for newer players. Stardew doesn’t require you to be good at twin stick mechanics (although that is used for the slingshot if you want to do that). It gives you lots of encouragement and is very straightforward with missions. The screen is never cluttered with junk or pop-ups. It gets more complex as you progress but you’ll never be “stuck”. The fishing and fighting games teaches how to use button control and timing. Everything feels rewarding like you are making progress. Not to mention it’s pretty universally loved and will run on almost any PC and is available on all consoles or tablet or mobile devices